Now Playing
iStock/Pattanaphong Khuankaew
First Chicago, then New York, now Minneapolis…R. Kelly‘s troubles continue to mount.
The Pioneer Press reports that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in Minnesota has charged R. Kelly with “engaging in prostitution with a minor.” The charges stem from an alleged incident which took place in Minneapolis in 2001.
Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman said the incident, which they learned about from a Chicago tip line, allegedly started with Kelly being approached by a “juvenile” for an autograph. The juvenile was younger than 18, but older than 16, Freeman said.
Kelly allegedly gave the juvenile his number and asked her to call him. When she did, he allegedly told her to go to a hotel in Minneapolis, where she was escorted to the singer’s suite. He then offered her $200 to get naked and dance with him. When she agreed, the singer, too, got naked and the two danced — and there was “sexual contact,” Freeman said.
The singer was charged with “engaging in, hiring, or agreeing to hire a minor to engage in prostitution.”
As Freeman pointed out, the three-year statute of limitations for cases like this only apply if the perpetrator remains in the state, which Kelly didn’t.
R. Kelly’s defense attorney Steve Greenberg tells ABC News the charges are “absurd.”
The singer is currently in custody in New York. Earlier this year, he was indicted in Chicago on ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Last month, federal prosecutors in New York and Chicago charged him with 18 additional counts, including kidnapping and racketeering.
The singer has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
